LTE-A is the advanced version of LTE, and it can deliver speeds of up to
150 Mbps, which is double the maximum speed promised by LTE and 10 times
faster than 3G technology. Yota, a Russian mobile broadband service
provider, launched the first LTE-A network in the country in October
2012. However, SK Telecom was the first operator to roll out the
technology commercially with the compatible handset in June 2013.

The operators witnessed wide adoption of LTE-A with over 150,000 users,
around 0.6 percent of its total subscriber base. The US was expected to
have more than five LTE-A supported networks by 2013. LTE subscribers in
North America will gradually shift to LTE-A, accounting for more than 50
percent of the total LTE connections in the region. Consequently, the
adoption of smartphones supporting LTE-A is expected to be on the rise
during the forecast period.

According to the report, a need for bandwidth management is driving the
market as network congestion and poor network performance are the major
concerns for most of the organizations and network operators worldwide.